A frequently cited rationale for increasing the participation of students from low socioeconomic status (SES) backgrounds is that it will create a workforce who will choose to work in low SES and medically underserviced communities. Two theoretical arguments, one that supports and one that contradicts this assumption, are proposed to explain the…

This study examined the associations between intrinsic motivation and achievement in mathematics in a sample of 1,478 Canadian school-age children followed from Grades 1 to 4 (ages 7-10). Children self-reported their intrinsic motivation toward mathematics, whereas achievement was measured through direct assessment of mathematics abilities.…

Objective: We assessed the rate of recovery from schizophrenia in community-based psychosocial rehabilitation and whether psychosocial attributes predicted the achievement of recovery beyond demographic and clinical characteristics. Methods: We used data from 246 individuals with schizophrenia spectrum disorder collected at baseline and at 6 and…

In this study, the construct of motivation to lead (MtL) is considered as a predictor of leadership training effectiveness. MtL, the individual preference to take on leadership roles, is a motivation that specifically relates to the content of leadership training. A total of 132 managers participated in a longitudinal follow-up study. The…

Adolescence is a vulnerable period for the initiation and peak of many harmful risk-taking behaviors such as smoking, which is among the most addictive and deadliest behaviors. Generic metatheories like the theory of triadic influence (TTI) suggest that interrelated risk factors across multiple domains (i.e., intrapersonal and…

The relationship between motivation and EFL proficiency is an issue of great concern in previous research on foreign language learning. However, work in this area offers inconclusive evidence with regard to the directionality of their relations. Using cross-lagged structural equation modeling, this study investigated the directionality of the…

Education is one of the strongest predictors of health worldwide. In South Africa, school dropout is a crisis where by Grade 12, only 52% of the age appropriate population remain enrolled. Survival analysis was used to identify the risk of dropping out of secondary school for male and female adolescents and examine the influence of substance use…

This longitudinal study investigated the effects of a mastery motivational climate in physical education (PE) classes on 2×2 achievement goal orientation and dominance, self-regulated learning (SRL), and physical activity (PA) in leisure time. A total of 408 (264 women, 144 men) university students were randomly assigned to two groups:…

Although many studies have documented developmental change in mathematics motivation, little is known about how these trends predict math performance. A sample of 288 participants from the United States reported their perceived math ability, math utility value and math interest in 5th, 7th and 9th grades. Latent growth curve models estimated…

The purpose of the present study was to examine the hypothesis that a nonlinear relationship exists between a performance-classroom climate and the reading achievement of adolescent students with learning disabilities (LD). Participants were 62 students with LD (Grades 5-9) from public elementary schools in northern Greece. Classroom climate was…

In this paper, we exploit a rich longitudinal data set to explore the forces that, during high school, shape the development of aspirations to attend university and achieve academic success. We then investigate how these aspirations, along with grades and other variables, impact educational outcomes such as going to university and graduating. It…

Career exploration is widely believed to produce positive career development outcomes among college and university students. Some research has supported this belief, but there is little information about exactly which outcomes it affects and whether any benefits of career exploration can be observed beyond individualistic western cultures. We…

The Eccles' expectancy-value model posits that a cascade of mechanisms explain associations between parents' beliefs and youths' achievement-related behaviors. Specifically, parents' beliefs predict parents' behaviors; in turn, parents' behaviors predict youths' motivational beliefs, and youths' motivational beliefs predict their behaviors. This…

Expectancy-value motivation profiles were identified in a sample of US ninth-grade students in 2009 (n = 19,259) using latent profile analysis. Of four distinct profiles, two were high, one typical, and one low in math and in science. In each area, the two high profiles were distinguished by (1) high self-efficacy with lower utility value and (2)…

Peer victimization is a known risk factor for various forms of maladjustment; however, the specific type of maladjustment may depend on individual differences in youth. This 2-wave longitudinal study examined the hypothesis that social approach-avoidance motivation, together with sex, would moderate the contribution of 3rd-grade victimization to…